Our Authors

Amanda Ruggeri

Amanda is a freelance journalist, travel writer, and blogger living in Rome, Italy. As well as for Serious Eats, she has written for the New York Times, Guardian, AFAR, National Geographic Traveller, and Atlantic, among other publications. She is also a contributor for Fodor's Rome 2012, has worked as a film host (including for a documentary on Caligula for the History Channel and a travel film on Rome for MSN U.K.), and blogs and offers travel consulting sessions at Revealed Rome

Everyone knows baklava, that pastry which layers crispy phyllo dough with a sweet, nutty filling. But most of us know only the traditional variety: rectangular pastries filled with a mixture of almonds and walnuts. Unsurprisingly, since the sweet dates back to at least the 15th century, there are many more varieties than that. More

If you're looking for the best cornetti, or Italian croissants, in Rome, don't head to any random cafe—many of them simply microwave frozen pastries. Instead, here are 5 of the best spots to find cornetti that are fresh-made, melt-in-your-mouth, and absolutely delicious. More

As the temperatures rise in Rome, nothing could be more refreshing than a granita, Italy's answer to (and predecessor of) the American slushy. But a granita is so much more than the granular ice-and-fake-flavoring mixture we've come to know in the States, especially when it's a granita like this one, from Rome's Gelateria del Teatro. More

Don't tell mainland Italians, but the sweets of Sicily might just be the country's best. Thanks to the island's hot-potato past (it's been ruled by Greeks and Romans, Byzantines and Arabs, French and Spanish) and its rich agriculture (hello, almonds and lemons, pistachios and oranges—not to mention olives and grapes), Sicilian food is among Italy's most varied and interesting cuisine. But when it comes to the sweets, we're really talking. More